The Break By Kat Mandu
The Break by Kat Mandu was released in 1979. In many ways it's a blueprint for house music as a genre because it puts DJ utility before traditional song structure. The utility of house music for DJ tools was one of the characteristics of the first wave of house producers.
The Original Mix
Kat Mandu was an artist from the Canadian disco scene. The Break was released in the same year as The Dancer by Gino Soccio, which shows the strength of the Canadian disco scene at the time.
The Break (Original Mix) By Kat Mandu
The Extended Mix
The extended remix version of The Break was released in 1980. This features a lengthy backwards section. Denis Lepage used this technique in the original but this it extended for a dramatic effect by Jonathan Fearing. The Break was a Music Box anthem, and Ron Hardy also used this backwards technique live at the Music Box as part of his DJ style. It seems likely that The Break was one of the influences on Ron Hardy's DJ style, as well as being a Music Box favourite.